MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND SPEAKER QUINN OPEN EAST COAST HEADQUARTERS OF YELP, ONLINE SERVICE THAT CONNECTS USERS TO LOCAL BUSINESSES

Yelp Joins Growing List of Tech Companies Opening New York City Offices, In Addition to Homegrown Start-Ups

65 New Employees Located at Union Square Headquarters; Company Is Still Hiring

Mayor Bloomberg today joined online review company Yelp to announce the opening of their new office in New York City. The new Yelp East Coast headquarters, located at 104 Fifth Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets, is already home to over 65 full-time employees - 20 of whom joined Yelp just this past month - and includes local and brand sales executives and a marketing team. The Mayor and Yelp CEO and co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman were joined by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York City Chief Digital Officer Rachel Sterne, Mayor's Media & Entertainment Commissioner Katherine Oliver and Economic Development Corporation President Seth Pinsky.

"Yelp's new office is the latest proof that New York gets five stars as a home of growing and innovative tech companies," said Mayor Bloomberg. "But we're working hard to create jobs not only in the tech sector, but also among the small businesses - from restaurants to hardware stores to auto shops - that Yelp users review."

"For a company that relies on opinions and lots of businesses, there is no better place to have an office than New York City," said NYC Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. "Using technology, Yelp is encouraging New Yorkers to help each other to find that new restaurant or that new gym and get out and experience what the city has to offer. With the addition of Yelp to our city's growing list of tech companies, we are well on our way to making New York City the tech capital of the world."

"New York City is the very embodiment of opportunity," said Yelp co-founder and CEO Jeremy Stoppelman. "We look forward to not only continuing to expand our own presence here but to further help New Yorkers and those visiting discover and support the amazing independent businesses throughout the five boroughs."
"Businesses are continuing to show confidence in New York City by making investments and jobs to the five boroughs," Deputy Mayor Steel said. "We're thrilled to welcome Yelp and its East Coast headquarters to the growing and vibrant tech scene in New York City."

"This announcement is a vote of confidence in our City's future, and once again confirms that New York City is emerging as a critical hub within the global innovation economy," said New York City Economic Development President Pinsky. "Yelp joins an already impressive roster of high-tech companies that have recently established or expanded their presence in the City, and we now look forward to working with them as they continue to prosper right here in the five boroughs."

"New York City is the media capital of the world and we are doing everything we can to meet Mayor Bloomberg's goal of being the world's premier digital City," said Commissioner Katherine Oliver. "We continue to see terrific companies like Yelp, Twitter, and so many others opening up major New York operations and that is a testament to the idea that you have to make it in New York."

"Yelp is helping tens of thousands of New York City businesses to grow and build deeper relationships with their customers," said Chief Digital Officer Rachel Sterne. "It is a pleasure to welcome Yelp to New York City, and to celebrate the over 100 digital jobs they are bringing to New Yorkers. As the most active digital consumer market in America, it's no surprise that the smart folks at Yelp recognize the importance of expanding their company in New York City."

Yelp is an online service that connects residents with great local businesses, like restaurants, grocery stores and pharmacies. Fueled by more than 63 million users, known as Yelpers, and over 22 million reviews, the website provides visitors with compressive listings of businesses and events, as well as a five-point rating from Yelpers and useful information such as menus, business hours and parking accessibility.

Thousands of New York businesses have already taken advantage of Yelp's free business tools via biz.yelp.com to engage with customers in a more interactive way. Beyond being an important real estate location for Yelp, one of the most frequently visited websites on the internet, New York City is also among the most heavily trafficked cities on Yelp, as measured by unique monthly visitors. Millions of New Yorkers visit the site to share and view information about local businesses and inform others about their own experiences there.

Yelp was founded in San Francisco in July 2004. Since then, Yelp communities have taken root in major cities across the world, including in Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium, making it the leading local guide for real word-of-mouth on everything from boutiques and mechanics to restaurants and dentists. Yelp's award-winning mobile applications can be downloaded via yelp.com/mobile to connect with great local businesses on the go.

This past May, Mayor Bloomberg and Chief Digital Officer Sterne unveiled the City's digital roadmap, a compressive strategy that laid the ground work for tech companies to come to the City, hire New Yorkers and thrive. The report, created in collaboration with numerous City agencies, stakeholders in both the public and private sector and citizens from all five boroughs, unveiled partnerships with a range of social media companies including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Tumblr that would allow the City to engage with residents in a more efficient and unified manner and provide New Yorkers the opportunity to connect with their government using the latest advances in digital communication.

With the addition of technological giants like Twitter and now Yelp, New York State is home to the second largest developer population in the nation - only behind Silicon Valley in California. Last year, the City passed Boston in the volume of venture capital investment, and high-tech jobs have grown by 30% in the past five years. Recently, publishing companies like Pearson and major retailers like Uniqlo have also opened new offices and locations within New York City. In the process, these companies - along with Yelp - have created additional jobs for New Yorkers across a wide range of related industries, including construction, architecture, media and marketing.